About this episode

The episode discusses a recent trip by Donald Trump to China with tech leaders and its implications on US-China relations, alongside economic and demographic trends in Japan and Mexico.

Donald Trump took Elon Musk and Jensen Huang to Beijing with him for 48 hours. But rather than the frat boy big weekend of their autistic dreams, the trip turned into a sequel to The Hangover. A dressing down from President Xi on Iran, a few more soybeans flogged, and some Boeings on order: was it worth Jensen’s $17 000 an hour time? Meanwhile, the Japanese 10 year bond yield has climbed above the Chinese one. This is something of a sorpasso. As the country struggles to keep its debt load manageable, there’s a sense of sag to the economy. Does the Japan of our techno-futurist imaginations now bear the same degree of relation to reality – as the Italy of our Fellini fantasies? Finally – another sorpasso – Mexican birth rates have dipped below those of America for the first time. Problem being, if the Mexicans don’t have sex, they can’t supply the US with a constant source of surplus labour. US conservatives have long been scornful of European immigration patterns, falling back on the cultural compatibility of their southern neighbours – but unless Pablo and Maria get back in the bedroom, they’ll soon be receiving the same rich blend of Africans and Middle Easterners as the EU. Do…

People in this episode

Host: Multipolarity

Topics covered

• US-China relations
• economics
• demographics
• immigration
• political commentary

Keywords

• Huawei
• Trump
• China
• Japan
• Mexico
• demographics
• economy
• immigration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: President Xi, Japan, Mexico

Books & works: Fellini

Places: America, China, Italy

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